NEW DELHI: Afghanistan head coach
Jonathan Trott
on Tuesday praised the decision to appoint
Dwayne Bravo
as the team's bowling coach for the ongoing
T20 World Cup
.
Trott believes that Bravo's vast experience in franchise cricket has made a significant impact on the approach of Afghanistan's bowlers, making Trott's job easier and enhancing the overall coaching experience.
In their opening match, Afghanistan showcased their bowling prowess as left-arm pacer Fazalhaq Farooqi claimed an impressive 5/9, while openers Rahmanullah Gurbaz (76) and Ibrahim Zadran (70) laid a solid foundation with the bat. The Afghans ultimately defeated tournament debutants Uganda by a commanding margin of 125 runs.
"DJ (Dwayne Bravo) coming into the side, fantastic. Having quality coaches also with huge experience as players (is great), but also vast franchise experience in this format of the game," Trott said in the post-match press conference.
"(It's) only a brilliant thing to have a player like him coming to the side as coach and it makes your job a lot easier but it also makes the coaching more enhanced, especially with the bowlers.
"We've seen the start of his first game with us and we saw the bowlers bowl really well, so credit to Dwayne. So (a) nice start for the boys," he added.
Despite the heavy defeat, Uganda captain Brian Masaba chose to focus on the positives, describing the experience of hearing their national anthem and seeing their flag at the World Cup as a "pretty special moment."
Masaba acknowledged the nerves that came with playing their first-ever T20 World Cup match and commended his team's fighting spirit in the face of a strong Afghan side.
"Pretty special moment for us, hearing our national anthem and seeing our flag at the World Cup," Masaba said after the match.
"First game at the World Cup, (a) lot of nerves, so good to get that out of the way.
"Something I will cherish for the rest of my life. We will look to come out and play better next game. They got off to a pretty good start and then it was about fighting back. It was very important how we fought back and full credit to the boys for that," he added.
Uganda will next face Papua New Guinea in their second Group C match on Thursday. Afghanistan, on the other hand will take on New Zealand at the same venue on Saturday.
(With inputs from PTI)
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